A REVIEW OF THIRD WINTER'S WAR BY M.L. LITTLE

Hello everyone!! Um... we're just gonna ignore the fact that it's been a month of postless days since I made that dramatic return from an accidental hiatus. Yeah. That didn't happen. (but seriously y'all I don't know why I have so much trouble returning to regular posting now I'm literally a terrible blogger)

Today I'm FINALLY reviewing Third Winter's War by M.L. Little- the final book in the Seventh Realm trilogy!! I reviewed books one and two already, so go check those reviews out if you haven't already. Aaaand... go read the books if you haven't yet! 

This review is spoiler-free and you're technically safe to read it even if you haven't read the first two... however, if you haven't read them yet, go do that right now!! If you do want to skip the review, just jump to the bottom of the post so we can chat!

(WARNING: Emily's book reviews are quite unorganized and really just a word dump of all her thoughts on the book she is reviewing. Please excuse her.)

(also I came back to the document that I started writing this review in so I could finish it... and it was all gone :)) :)) fun times)

The king is dead. Glennerdells has burned.

The survivors sail across the sea to Bellica to face the enemy–Rex Bellum, who uses elements as weapons and snaps minds to his will.

Gideon Black, the rightful king of Glennerdells, suffers under the mind control, forced to work as Bellum’s puppet until it drove him mad. But Elowyn believes that the words of a forgotten prophecy refer to him–and can bring him back.

Nations clash and fate rests in the hands of the boy who started it all in the epic conclusion to the Seventh Realm Trilogy.

SO. Let me just start by saying that from the beginning of this book, there's no shortage of intensity. Or pain. Or suffering. (doesn't that make you want to read it already? because it would make me want to read it. the sad part is I'm not even joking) Just like the first two books, I was drawn into the story from the start. (The setting, the atmosphere of these books? GOLD. More on that later.)

It doesn't get any less intense as it goes on, either. This book is about war (hence the title, of course), and seriously... get ready for a lot of emotions AND action, because it is a WHIRLWIND. In the best way. 

In this book, we get a lot more POV shifts than in the first two. This was so fun, because in addition to Gabriel and Elowyn (which I think was basically it in book 2), we get a lot of time with Hollis and REN- and of COURSE we needed more Ren! I will say that while I loved getting in all these characters' heads (especially Ren), I rather missed Gabriel. He was the one we started out the journey with, and though I know it was necessary to spend more time with other characters in this story, I did miss having more of Gabriel's POV. 

Now, on the topic of the characters... my goodness. These books have some of my favorite characters ever, seriously. First of all, the SIBLING RELATIONSHIPS. GAHHH I LOVE IT SO MUCH. I LOVE THIS FAMILY SO MUCH. They're just the cutest, break-your-heart-loyal bunch of siblings and I probably won't ever get over it. Their selfless love for each other is just inspiring, and I just love everything about them. 

Second- the characters in these books are so REAL. Writing kids can be difficult- it's easy to make them seem too young, too old, or just too unrealistic. But my goodness, M. L. Little just writes the most believable people, children included. Their actions, their dialogue- it just adds to the characters' lovability so much more. 

You really see so much of the characters' HEART in this book. It's heartwarming and heartbreaking at the same time. Everyone wants to protect everyone else. Everyone wants to help. Everyone knows they're probably going to die. They keep fighting and protecting anyway. They don't give up, not once, not if they know someone else's life is on the line. (shoutout to my girl Ren, who goes through SO MUCH trying to protect her brothers and just... *weeps*)

One random thing: if you've read the previous book, you'll remember that thing that Gabriel and Elowyn did. You know, that plan they came up with that was absolutely one of the best parts of the book and just had me DYING? It was sadly only mentioned once in Third Winter's War. Granted, the part where it was mentioned was one of the best moments/lines of the whole book. XD But still. I would have loved to see it played with a lot more. BUT this book was also a lot more serious, so I understand that it just may not have really fit into the story this time around.

ALSO, two characters we got a whole lot more of in this book: DARIUS AND DALE. YES PLEASE. I love the Draven dad and older brother so much!! Darius is probably one of my favorite fictional dads ever. He's just fantastic. And I absolutely loved having Dale more present and doing things with the rest of his siblings. It was totally a highlight of the book.

Remember how I mentioned earlier how much I love the setting? Because I LOVE THE SETTING. I've talked in my previous reviews about how much I love the unique world- where there's magic and strange creatures and everything in between, but also cars and planes and refrigerators and super normal things that we're familiar with in our world. It's really like no other storyworld I've ever seen before, and I love that. 

And then there's also the eeriness that I mentioned before. I LOVE a story that's good and eerie- it doesn't have to be a thriller, or even remotely scary, but if it's got that mysterious, eerie vibe? GIVE IT TO ME NOW. I can't tell you much I love when a book has a good shiver-y element, and this series has had it from book one. With the mysterious talk of Rex Bellum and magic and all that good stuff, it was just delightfully eerie, and book 3 really carried that on. Especially since it took place in the cold and snow- of COURSE that made it even eerier. 

I would like to file a complaint, however, about the devastating lack of nullians in this book.

Now- the ending. The ending was perfect. It was hopeful, and bittersweet, and painful. It was just about everything I want in an ending. The last line gives me shivers and makes me want to go right back to the beginning and read the adventure all over again. (which I will definitely be doing at some point.) 

These books are amazing. They'll make you laugh, and cry, and cheer, and they'll draw you in and make you feel a part of the wonderful world they take place in. The characters will make you fall in love and never want to leave their side. If you love fantasy, unique storyworlds, and sibling stories, you ABSOLUTELY need to read this series. I mean, if you're reading this review chances are you've already at least started the series... but let this be your sign to obnoxiously shove it in everyone you know's face and tell them they need to read it right now. 

Also, at the end of this book you'll find the greatest author bio to ever exist. if you know you know.

And there it is- my rambly review of Third Winter's War and my final review for a Seventh Realms book. *sniffle* I'm seriously so sad to leave these stories and characters behind. But that's the mark of a great book- if it leaves an impact and makes you emotional to say goodbye to, it did its job. 

Hopefully I'll be able to actually POST here from now on. xD I just really got out of the habit of preparing a post every week, but I really want to get back to regular posting again- whether that be weekly or biweekly- so bear with me. And actually, there will only be a few more regular posts (if I manage to actually post XD) before... *drumroll please* NANOWRIMO UPDATES BEGIN!! Um... yeah. NANOWRIMO IS ALMOST HERE, YOU GUYS. It just seriously blows my mind how quickly this thing creeps up on us. The last couple of years I've found myself in June/Julyish (maybe even earlier) thinking about NaNo and how I can't wait to do it again... then I blink and OH LOOK IT'S HERE NOW. I'm not sure if that's a good thing or not, but oh well. xD

Anyway, I hope you all are having a lovely week and an even lovelier autumn, and I'll see you next time! < 3

Have you read the Seventh Realm trilogy? Are you picky about finales, like me? And who's doing NaNoWriMo??